My semester in Dakar

Photo: Cooking rice

In this photo, you can see my sister Nene cooking rice in the kitchen. It is brown because it is white rice cooked in brown broth. Behind her stands Mbene, who is our bonne — a young girl often employed as domestic help. Sometimes she is related to the family and comes from a rural village, as in Mbene’s case, and works in exchange for money, food and/or board.